Wilderness Lodge Stay Report: Almost Normal!

It’s no secret that Wilderness Lodge is my favorite hotel at Walt Disney World, so it should come as no surprise that its reopening provided the perfect excuse for a return stay. This Walt Disney World resort report covers the latest changes, random observations, food picks, and more.

We won’t fixate on health safety protocol or anything else unique to Walt Disney World’s phased reopening. In part because we’ve already done it several times (here and here). There are only so many photos one person can take of plexiglass barriers or health safety signs and still have it be interesting. We are well past that point.

The other reason is because our stay at Wilderness Lodge was mostly a normal one. Sure, there are still some closed restaurants, scaled-back menus, common area signage, plus “table unavailable” and “please wait here” markers. However, there’s less and less of all that with each passing day and more is steadily and quietly returning to normal.

Moreover, anyone reading this is going to encounter even fewer face masks than we did. Those becoming optional indoors is another big milestone, probably the final significant step in Walt Disney World’s rule relaxation.

We had a great stay at Wilderness Lodge, but I’ll admit I’m slightly jealous of those mask-less guests who will be relaxing in rocking chairs by the fireplace this week. Guess we’ll have to book another stay so I can research how the improved facial aerodynamics change rocking efficiency!

Of course, I’m kidding.

Not about the booking another stay at Wilderness Lodge part. We’ll definitely do that. About the rocking chair part; everyone knows the superior fireplace is up in the alcove overlooking the lobby. Those chairs don’t rock, but they are much more comfortable.

We also won’t book a return stay immediately given the cost and the lack of DVC availability. As discussed recently in What’s Up with Sold Out Hotels at Walt Disney World? options are limited later this year, and many might end up being full rack rate. (Hopefully our Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek studio wait lists for late November/early December come through!)

No matter how often I look at Walt Disney World’s rate charts, I’m nevertheless surprised when I see total costs on the booking page. As much as we’d love to splurge on an Old Faithful Club Level room for Christmas-time, that probably won’t be happening without an AP or Florida resident discount. My estimate of how much that would cost was off by several hundred dollars! Yikes.

Turning back to the many chairs of Wilderness Lodge, these high back options in the lobby are another gem.

The patterns are beautiful, the chairs are comfortable, and have a feeling of grandiosity to them. The location is also perfect, equidistant from the babbling brook and crackling fireplace for some “natural” surround sound. Between those two things and the background music, this is a great spot for decompressing late at night.

Take a moment to look at this work station. Really look at it. Note the variety of light fixtures, the artwork, the posts and beams, furniture, and flooring. Simple as it may seem, there is so much going on here, and the design is exquisite.

One “activity” I would strongly recommend to anyone staying at Wilderness is a late night lap around every single floor of the lobby. Start at 10 pm and allocate about two hours to this (if you’re more of a morning person, the same can be accomplished from around 5 to 7 am). Sit down in every alcove and simply soak it all in. You’ll finish the exercise feeling unburdened, revitalized, and with a greater appreciation of Wilderness Lodge.

I’ll be completely transparent: this is pro-Wilderness Lodge propaganda. The good kind of propaganda.

I want more Walt Disney World fans to fall in love with Wilderness Lodge’s rich theme, attention to detail, and authentic designs. The more people who love Wilderness Lodge, the less likely it is that Disney tries to transform it into a woodsy Hilton.

We watched Electrical Water Pageant from the seating area behind Geyser Point, and this area was once again packed. If you’re planning on viewing it from there, arrive at least 15 minutes early. (Above Electrical Water Pageant is moving to its next resort of the night.)

Absolutely love to see so much love for that charming Vacation Kingdom of the World-era show. I hope the enduring popularity of this little light parade demonstrates to Disney that not everything needs to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and spend a decade in development. Electrical Water Pageant probably does not have a measurable impact on bookings, but the cumulative impact of the “little things” is absolutely what brings people back. To frequently, it seems that’s overlooked by Disney’s decision-makers.

We didn’t do any swimming, but I never noticed any of the pools using the virtual waitlist. It seemed like they had ample unused seating whenever we passed.

It probably helps that physical distancing and capacity limits have essentially been dropped at the pools. I’d be surprised if this remains an issue anywhere aside from maybe Coronado Springs. If anyone has recently done a stay at any resort (in June 2021) and has pool experience, please share in the comments!

Fire Rock Geyser was being refurbished during our stay. Given that the project appeared very close to complete, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s already erupting again.

While I’m always apprehensive about Disney clearing more trees at Wilderness Lodge, this was necessary. The geyser and hot springs were overly obscured and many guests didn’t even notice them. There’s still ample seclusion here, but now the view of the manmade features and lake in the distance is better. Nice to see Disney paying attention to stuff like this, keeping the Wilderness at the Lodge, but not letting it become overgrown.

Wilderness Lodge continues to receive new resort-specific merchandise, and a lot of it is really good. (It was rough there for a year or so when many of the items had stupid sayings on them.)

I absolutely love the towel on the far right. That exact design should be put on many other items. As much as I love the more subtle and adult resort merchandise, I’m also a sucker for over-the-top designs that meld the resort’s theme with Disney characters. This does that perfectly.

Same general idea here. Absolutely fantastic design.

The only thing that gives me pause about this is that the graphic is basically just a piece of paper inside the Tervis tumbler. That’s pretty common with these cups, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it’s still less than ideal.

Then there’s this mug, which is just absolutely fantastic in every conceivable way.

This is not new–we shared photos of it back around Christmas–but it’s so great that I’ve gotta repost to bring it to the attention of new readers or anyone that might’ve forgotten.

Now that we’ve offered some effusive praise, let’s take a moment to point out one of the few negatives we observed during this stay. This new carpet, which inexplicably was swapped out on ‘restaurant row.’

This is the same style that has been added to hallways in the guest room wings. I’m not a fan of it there, but mostly give it a pass since I can understand the desire to use it to ‘transition’ from the highly-themed lobby to the more sparse guest rooms. I dislike this design and don’t think it’s as modern and/or stylish as Disney’s designers think it is, but whatever.

For comparison, here’s the old carpeting.

I understand that compromises are “necessary” to some degree when it comes to actual accommodations. As such, I’m not particularly tough on the reimagined reviews in our review (see Photos & Video: Reimagined Rooms at Wilderness Lodge). That’s in part because I’m a realist and in part because the lobby remains thematically intact. Please, Disney, do not screw up the lobby. It’s literally perfect, incapable of enhancement or plussing. All changes to it are downgrades.

We have several dining updates from Wilderness Lodge.

First, Territory Lounge is now open nightly. I’m not sure when this change occurred–it was also open during our Christmas stay, but that was for a limited time during the holidays. Regardless, it’s operating nightly from 4 pm to 10 pm.

For dinner one night, we ate at Roaring Fork and I ordered the new-to-me Lumberjack Platter: Pulled Pork, Macaroni & Cheese, Corn Bread, and Coleslaw. I was initially underwhelmed by the portion size, but it ended up being deceptively large and filling. (Still think the cornbread should be about double that size.)

On a related note, I’m ready for counter service restaurants to operate normally, and serve dishes on regular plates. The option for takeout is great, but restore the option for dining in. It’s obviously a little thing, but counter service restaurants all around Walt Disney World feel uninviting.

Above is the iconic Bison Bacon Cheeseburger from Geyser Point Bar & Grill.

This is already getting long, so I’ll update our review of that restaurant soon. (In the meantime, we have totally overhauled our list of the Best Burgers at Walt Disney World!)

We also did breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe.

Full review coming soon!

Here’s a photo of a bus. Same deal here–lots of thoughts on transportation from our stay at Wilderness Lodge and recent visits to the parks, but those are worthy of a separate post.

Totally unrelated to the topic of this post, but if anyone has stayed at a Skyliner resort and used the gondolas at or before park opening or at or after park closing, please leave a comment and share your experience! We haven’t had a chance to stay at any of these resorts since Memorial Day, but are wondering how wait times and efficiency has improved with the relaxation of physical distancing. Thanks!

Characters appear at the resorts sporadically as the “Caravanning ‘Round The World” RV continues to roll around. This is a nice touch, and we’re totally on board with the ways Walt Disney World has found to infuse characters into the experience, despite the lack of meet & greets and regular character meals.

However, this particular one felt a tad dystopian. Kids would go up to the door and pose directly in front of the characters. Technically, that makes it the closest Disney has gotten to traditional meet & greets, but it’s just weird. The encounters with less-intrusive barriers, and no posed photos but distanced interactions feel more natural to me. Maybe parents disagree and want photos like this, though.

Ultimately, another awful experience at Wilderness Lodge. Just abysmal. If you have a stay booked in a standard Old Faithful Club Level room or in a studio at Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek between November 28 and December 2, stop reading this post right now and go cancel. 😆😂

For those of you still with us, Wilderness Lodge remains fantastic and a resort that we highly recommend. I know it’s not to everyone’s tastes, but it still boggles my mind that this isn’t in the top 3 of every Walt Disney World fan. As much as I want to “sell” everyone on the greatness of Wilderness Lodge, it’s also becoming more expensive and difficult to book, so perhaps it doesn’t need any new fans!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Thoughts on transportation, dining, merchandise, renovations, or anything else covered in this Walt Disney World resort stay report? Are you a Wilderness Lodge fan? If so, is it because of the theme or something else? Have you taken the time to explore the quiet corners of the lobby? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!